But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, so that you do not grieve the way others do who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him all of those who by the means of Jesus have fallen asleep. For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep; because the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with a commanding shout of an archangel's voice, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ with be resurrected first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, in order to join up with the Lord in the air. Thus, we will be with the Lord always. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.'' (I Thess. 4:13-18)
There are so many controversy about the time that the rapture of the saints will occur
In the Latin, the words ``caught up'' (in boldface above) are rendered as rapiemur, which is a form of the verb rapio, meaning ``to seize and carry off.'' The Greek word underlying it here is harpagesometha (``will be caught up''), a form of the verb harpazo, which is the Greek equivalent of the Latin word rapio. This is the origin for the very term``Rapture''-the Latin Vulgate here says that when Jesus returns to earth, all of the saints, both living and dead, will be ``raptured'' into the clouds.
Is the Rapture an Assumption?
In addition to this classic text from I Thessalonians, there are certain other passages commonly cited as evidence of the Rapture. In the Gospel of Luke, in the seventeenth chapter, we find Jesus talking about ``the days of the Son of Man,'' i.e. the End Times when He will return. He said,
``I tell you, in that night two will be in one bed; the one will be taken, and the other will be left. Two will be grinding together, one will be taken, and the other will be left. Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other will be left. In response they asked Him, `In what place, Lord?' So He told them, `Where the [dead] body is, that is where the eagles will congregate.' '' (Luke 17:34-37)
First, we can safely conclude only that the connotation of the original Greek of Luke17 is that a selection will occur during the End Times, with one being accepted and the other one being rejected. Despite the fact that many believe (dare I say ``assume''?) this selection to be by means of the Rapture, it is important to notice that the specific means by which this selection is performed is left unmentioned. Is this a selection to be raptured, or in some other way to be protected during the final Tribulation? The context offers nodirect support for such an interpretation. Rather, Jesus cites the stories of Noah (vv.26-27)and Lot (vv.28-29, 32) to describe two fates-one fate is to be saved by God, the other fate is to suffer God's wrathful punishment. Observe that Noah and Lot were delivered from different judgments in different ways, but neither one of them was raptured to heaven.Christ's emphasis here is on the end results-salvation on the one hand, and condemnation on the other-not on the means of accomplishing either result.
A Gathering of Eagles
Finally, when Jesus is asked for a location , it is significant that He did not take this opportunity to explain that the saints would temporarily be taken to heaven. Instead, He spoke those enigmatic words about eagles gathering around a body. What did He mean? In order to find out, we must now turn to the Olivet Prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew, where we find an extensive prophetic discourse on the Last Days, including words which parallel those found in the seventeenth chapter of Luke. In particular, this puzzling proverb appears in almost identical words in Matt. 24:28. In addition to that, further on in Matt. 24 we can find a ``one will be taken, the other will be left'' passage.
Notice that these parallels which we find in Matt. 24 occur at a different time and in a different setting and verbal context from those of Luke 17. Yet if the words in Luke refer to the Rapture, should we not safely conclude that the words in Matthew do so as well? Alternately, if Luke 17 is not a reference to the Rapture, may we not be justified in concluding that Jesus' parallel words in Matt. 24 also do not refer to the Rapture? Let's look closely at the words in Matt. 24:
The Rapture of the saints will be the last hour before the great Tribulation day will come into existence.
The rapture of the saints is not an event for the entire world. But an event for those that are in Christ Jesus and liveth their life in accordance to the Holy Spirit. These people are familiar with the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ. There shall be a spiritual command call, but only those who are in spirit stand a chance to hear the call.
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